since then there has not been a Turkey killed in any of the ranges mentioned. The year previous to 
their disappearance from this part of the State, an acquaintance reared fourteen beautiful bronzed birds 
from the eggs of a Wild Turkey, and when a little over a year old they all died ; also many tame Tur- 
keys died about the same time with “chicken cholera,” and I am inclined to believe the disappearance 
of the Wild Turkey, in Southern Ohio at least, was dependent upon some epidemic disease. 
The Wild Turkey is exceedingly wary, and in disposition contains more of the wild nature than any 
of the birds of the forest. Even when taken directly from the shell and reared either by hand or with 
domestic Turkeys, they will, when grown, separate from friends, protectors, and accustomed comrades, 
and instinctively seek the more attractive life of the forest. Still instances are recorded, tending to show 
that these birds may at times exhibit, to a most remarkable extent, the faculty of memory and capacity for 
attachment to former friends and acquaintances, even after long periods of separation. J. J. Audubon re- 
lates a case of this kind in a bird he raised, and which, after being fed and fondled for two years, left 
all for the natural attractions of the forest, and was considered forever lost. But while on a hunting ex- 
cursion some five miles from home, he saw a fine gobbler cross the path before him moving leisurely 
along, and he ordered his dog to put the bird up. The dog went off with great speed, and as the animal 
approached, the Turkey slackened his pace until both dog and Turkey were seen standing side by side, 
as if holding an interview. Mr. Audubon says he was greatly surprised at theft actions, but still more 
so when he came up and found a mutual recognition of old friends, and that his favorite pet was willing 
to submit to his wishes and be taken back to civilization. 
But no care and kindness can in one or two generations overcome the fear of man and love for the 
wilds, and it requires many years of skilled schooling to extinguish the instincts for roving, and give to the 
bird that contented and confiding disposition found in the domestic Turkey. I do not think it possible 
for a bird that has been reared in a state of nature, and felt the charms of the wilderness, to ever be 
made reconciled to any other condition in life. I once captured a full-grown young female that had been 
winged several weeks before. The poor bird was almost dead from starvation and injury, yet life seemed 
so dear that she cried most pitifully when she found resistance useless. The broken end of the wing was 
amputated, and the vermin vanquished, and the prisoner placed in a large open pen by the side of the 
walk to the barn. In the pen was a small box, large enough to afford the timid creature a place of 
concealment, a roost, and other measures of comfort. Here she was kept more than a year, with 
every attention to have her become accustomed to a new mode of life and presence of friends around 
her ; yet she would remain concealed during the day, and would not even take food or water excepting 
at twilight ; and then only in the absence of every object of fear. From here I sent her into a county 
having no Wild Turkeys, and placed her in a 'garden overgrown with an abundance of bushes of cur- 
rants, gooseberries, raspberries, etc., interspersed with strawberry plants, and with her a pair of tame 
Turkeys. Here she remained over two years without manifesting the least inclination to make the ac- 
quaintance of her well-raised relatives. A misplaced board on the fence surrounding the place of confine- 
ment, finally gave her that boon she so much desired. It was the beginning of summer when she ob_ 
tainecl her freedom, and was seen no more until the following spring, when she was noticed several times 
near the tame Turkeys, and this always very early in the morning. That she could get there at 
that hour in the day, or get there at all, from the timber-land, near a mile distant, through farms and 
fences, as she was unable to fly over an ordinary fence, seemed most remarkable. After harvest, she 
frequented the stubble-fields for food with four well-grown half-breeds as wild as herself. The following 
spring, she began her visits to her old acquaintances again, but unfortunately, on one of her trips, she 
fell in with a man and gun and was brought in as a great prize. Indignation is too mild a term to ex- 
press the feelings of those who looked upon the lifeless form and reviewed the history of the poor unfor- 
tunate bird. 
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